Maryland Sick and Safe Leave

At the beginning of last year Governor Larry Hogan Signed Executive Order 01.01.2018.04 which provided for the first posting requirement I’d like to discuss here today. It concerns the Maryland Earned Sick and Safe Leave Employee Notice. The law, and associated poster, applies to employers with 15 or more employees and requires paid sick and safe leave for employees. for employers that employ 14 or fewer employees it requires Unpaid sick and safe leave.

As in many states that have bolstered or expanded upon federal sick and safe leave provisions, Maryland allows for an accrual scheme that may take a bit getting used to. For every 30 hours an employee works they accrue 1 hour of leave time. Employees are NOT entitled to earn more than 40 hours of paid sick leave in a year or more than 64 hours of earned sick and safe leave at any time.

According to the poster, an employee is allowed to use earned sick and safe leave under the following conditions:

To care for or treat the employee’s mental or physical illness, injury, or condition;

to obtain preventative medical care;

To care for a family member with a mental or physical illness or condition;

For maternity OR Paternity leave;

For matter pertaining to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking committed against the employee or the employee’s family member.

Employers are required to provide a written statement of the employee’s available earned sick and safe leave. They are also prohibited under the law from taking adverse action against an employee who exercises a right under the Maryland Healthy Working Families Act.